2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season (THG)
The 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season '''was an average hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin. The official start of the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1, 2018 - November 30, 2018. '''Tropical Depression One '''Was the first system to form on May 16, around two weeks before the official start of hurricane season. '''Tropical Storm Otto '''Was the last system to form, and a fish spinner storm that affected no land - on November 17, 2018. Tropical Storm Otto formed from a disturbance in the North Atlantic, but cooler than normal ocean waters prevented this storm from becoming a hurricane. Tropical Storm Otto reached peak intensity at 60 MPH, with a minimum central pressure of 995 mbar. '''Hurricane Fay '''Was the strongest storm of the '''2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season. A total of 2 depressions, 12 named storms, 7 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes formed during the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Seasonal forecasts from the Meteorological Center for Hurricanes and Winter Storms predicted near-average to slightly above average activity on April 2nd, 2018. ImageSize = width:820 height:240 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/03/2018 till:31/12/2018 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/03/2018 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_≤39_mph_(≤62_km/h) id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39–73_mph_(63–117_km/h) id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1_=_74–95_mph_(118–153_km/h) id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2_=_96–110_mph_(154–177_km/h) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3_=_111–129_mph_(178–208_km/h) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4_=_130–156_mph_(209–251_km/h) id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5_=_≥157_mph_(≥252_km/h) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:10 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:16/05/2018 till:20/05/2018 color:TD text:"TD One" from:20/07/2018 till:26/07/2018 color:C1 text:"Andrea" from:02/08/2018 till:07/08/2018 color:TS text:"Barry" from:14/08/2018 till:22/08/2018 color:C1 text:"Chantal" from:16/08/2018 till:19/08/2018 color:TD text:"TD Four" from:20/08/2018 till:06/09/2018 color:C4 text:"Danny" barset:break from:05/09/2018 till:14/09/2018 color:C3 text:"Erikson" from:06/09/2018 till:20/09/2018 color:C5 text:"Fay" from:13/09/2018 till:26/09/2018 color:TS text:"Gonzalo" from:25/09/2018 till:30/09/2018 color:TS text:"Harry" from:09/10/2018 till:14/10/2018 color:TS text:"Igor" from:13/10/2018 till:23/10/2018 color:TS text:"Jack" barset:break from:17/10/2018 till:28/10/2018 color:TS text:"Karen" from:27/10/2018 till:07/11/2018 color:C2 text:"Larry" from:01/11/2018 till:10/11/2018 color:C3 text:"Martha" from:05/11/2018 till:16/11/2018 color:TS text:"Nate" from:17/11/2018 till:23/11/2018 color:TS text:"Otto" bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/04/2018 till:30/04/2018 text:April from:01/05/2018 till:31/05/2018 text:May from:01/06/2018 till:30/06/2018 text:June from:01/07/2018 till:31/07/2018 text:July from:01/08/2018 till:31/08/2018 text:August from:01/09/2018 till:30/09/2018 text:September from:01/10/2018 till:31/10/2018 text:October from:01/11/2018 till:30/11/2018 text:November from:01/12/2018 till:31/12/2018 text:December TextData = pos:(570,30) text:"(From the" pos:(618,30) text:"Saffir–Simpson scale)" Tropical Depression One Hurricane Andrea On July 19, a disturbance originating from the Bahamas began organizing into tropical storm Andrea, at 1200 UTC, July 20. Tropical storm watches were issued for the Georgia and northern Florida coastline. At 0600 UTC, July 21, Andrea was very close to making landfall somewhere in Georgia, but began to move east, while the intensity slowly increased to minimal hurricane strength by July 23. A rip current killed 3 people in the southeastern states. Hurricane Andrea became extratropical and dissipated on July 26, at 1500 UTC. Tropical Storm Barry A relatively disorganized tropical disturbance lacking a well defined circulation formed on August 2nd, in an environment with moderate wind shear. Because of the distance from any land, this disturbance relied heavily on Dvorak, visible, scatterometer and infrared measurements. On August 3rd, the nascent disturbance began to organize, and at 1200 UTC, satellite measurements found a closed circulation, and the NHC issued its first advisory on tropical storm "Barry".Shortly after midnight at 0400 UTC, tropical storm Barry began to move northeast with nominal wind speeds of around 45 MPH. Wind shear caused Barry to struggle to intensify much further. On August 4th, tropical storm Barry reached peak intensity, before slowly weakening in an increasingly unfavorable environment.Tropical storm Barry soon began to rapidly weaken, and became a weak extratropical storm before dissipating on August 7th. Hurricane Chantal On August 13, a nascent tropical disturbance was moving very slowly east, and was observed by satellite to have significant convection in a pocket of low wind shear. The disturbance then began to loop around for a couple of hours, and then started moving north to northeast.At 0000 UTC, August 14, aircraft recon was sent out to investigate the disturbance, and NHC issued its first advisory on PTC Four, and gave it a 70% chance of becoming either a strong tropical storm, or a hurricane. Scatterometer and microwave measurements concluded that PTC Four was just beginning to develop a slight eyewall. An hour into their flight, and aircraft recon found sustained winds of 50 MPH, and a closed circulation, confirming the satellite measurements. At 5 AM EST on the 14th, the NHC issued its third advisory and designated the disturbance "Chantal". Tropical Storm Chantal soon began to develop an eye.Shortly after 3:30 PM EST on the 14th, aircraft recon made a pass through the western eyewall of Chantal, and observed peak 10 second wind gusts of 80 MPH, but found no sustained hurricane force winds. Aircraft recon passed through the eye and dropsonde measurements concluded at approximately 5:50 PM, they found Chantal to have a minimum pressure of 990 MB, confirming intensification. A second dropsonde was dropped shortly thereafter, in the northeast eyewall, and this time found sustained winds of 75 MPH. Aircraft recon data evidence was sufficient enough for the NHC to upgrade tropical storm Chantal to hurricane status. After midnight, on August 15, Hurricane Chantal reached peak intensity, with maximum sustained winds of 80 MPH and a minimum central pressure of 977 mb. The next day, hurricane Chantal encountered just enough wind shear to not allow Chantal to strengthen further, plus the cooler than normal ocean waters. Over the course of a few days, hurricane Chantal leveled in intensity, until encountering even colder waters after August 19. Hurricane Chantal weakened to a tropical storm, then turned extratropical and dissipated on the morning of August 22nd. Tropical Depression Four On August 14, a weak disturbance was struggling in a wind shear and dry air environment, in the Gulf of Mexico off the Yucatan. The NHC began issuing its first advisory on ''PTC Four, ''before noon on August 15. The disorganized disturbance was given a low chance of becoming a tropical storm, or hurricane, because conditions were very unfavorable for development. Tropical depression Four was designated at 0300 UTC, August 16.On August 16, an aircraft recon plane was sent out to investigate the low pressure system, but found no closed circulation and weak winds. The NHC decided to issue tropical storm warnings for a small area after 2 PM, on August 17. Tropical Depression Four was a westward-moving disturbance heading for the western Gulf of Mexico coastline. On August 18, TD Four made landfall at peak intensity with winds sustained at 35 MPH, with higher gusts recorded. It was noted that shortly prior to landfall, wind shear lessened, and prompted stronger convection signals on the infrared satellite.Shortly after landfall, TD Four immediately weakened and dissipated early on August 19, dumping nearly 8 inches of rain, which was enough to cause a mudslide that killed 7 people. A total of 7 people were killed (1 indirect), and up to $7 million (2018 USD) in damages. Hurricane Danny On August 19, a westward-moving tropical wave had quickly formed from favorable MDR conditions, and a day later, at 1000 UTC, the NHC issued its first advisory, designating the disturbance "tropical storm Danny". The newly formed nascent disturbance began to rapidly organize, and at 1200 UTC on August 21, Danny strengthened into a hurricane. Scatterometer and satellite measurements were enough to classify Danny as a hurricane.Early on August 22nd, hurricane Danny slowly strengthened while moving west, putting the Virgin Islands on alert for potentially powerful impacts from the already category 3 hurricane. Soon, the NHC began issuing hurricane watches and warnings for the Virgin Islands. At 3 PM on August 24th, Guadeloupe was starting to encounter increasing winds and deteriorating conditions, after people began evacuating or seeking shelter. In the early afternoon hours, hurricane Danny made landfall in Montserrat, causing high winds and heavy rainfall. Significant damage occurred in Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Martin and most of the adjacent islands caused by the passage of Danny at peak intensity. Hurricane Danny began to turn north, setting its sights on eastern Puerto Rico and the British and U.S Virgin Islands.Mid-morning on August 25th, Danny made its second landfall in Flamenco, killing nearly 50 people and injuring many others. Extreme eastern Puerto Rico was dramatically affected by Danny's passage as well. After Danny passed through, Danny began to weaken to a category 3 hurricane on August 26th, as well as slowing down. Over the course of several days, Danny slowly began to speed up and was picked up by a North-Atlantic mid-level trough. Hurricane Danny became extratropical on September 3rd, whilst moving eastward towards Spain and Portugal. On September 5th, Danny's remnants affected the western coasts of Portugal and Spain, causing mudslides and heavy rain, and also strong gusty winds which caused minor damages. Danny's barely recognizable remnants dissipated a day later, on September 6th. Hurricane Danny was one of the most costliest and deadliest Caribbean hurricanes on record, with a total of $102 billion USD in damages, and a total of over 200 fatalities. Hurricane Erikson On September 5, a few days after a westward-moving tropical wave emerged off Africa, the NHC sent out a hurricane hunters mission to investigate the disturbance and found tropical storm force winds, but failed to find a closed circulation at 1800 UTC, on the 5th. The next day, the NHC declared the PTC "Erikson", after a second recon mission this time, found a closed circulation and even stronger the winds. Erikson began to slowly organize, and developing profound outflow from both sides on September 7th. At 1200 UTC, September 7th, Erikson was upgraded to a hurricane. The looming threat of a possible landfall was confirmed, when the NHC issued hurricane warnings and tropical storm warnings for the the ABC islands. Hurricane Erikson began to pick up on intensity, and reached peak intensity off the south American coastline. Winds began increasing, and Erikson began to lash the ABC islands, starting with Curacao, the farthest east island with over 100 MPH wind gusts and significant damage. Over 100 people total were killed, nearly a third on each island. Then, On September 10, hurricane Erikson began to weaken after encountering wind shear. Its next target was central America, mostly Honduras. Erikson made landfall somewhere in Honduras, on September 12. It dissipated after travelling over rugged terrain on September 14. A total of 107 people were killed, and 62 billion USD in damages. Hurricane Fay Tropical Storm Gonzalo Tropical Storm Harry Tropical Storm Igor Tropical Storm Jack Tropical Storm Karen Hurricane Larry Hurricane Martha Tropical Storm Nate Tropical Storm Otto Category:Atlantic hurricane seasons Category:Average Category:2018 Atlantic hurricane season Category:Enso neutral Category:TheHurricaneGod